“IZA is to be congratulated on the 15th anniversary of its founding. IZA very quickly became, and remains, the “home address” for high quality theoretical and empirical research in Labor Economics and Economic Policy. It uses a two track approach. One is the dissemination of cutting edge Labor Economics research through the Discussion Paper Series. By being easy to navigate, open to new ideas and topics, at the research frontier, and free of charge, the Discussion Paper Series has come to play a major and vital role for the community of Labor Economists worldwide.

The second is that the research facilities at the IZA headquarters are outstanding, but even more important is the staff and the large number of visitors at the Bonn headquarters every year. The broad range of the visitors and their research topics make the office an intellectually exciting research environment. In addition, at its headquarters, among its research fellows and among those participating in IZA conferences there is a wide range of participants from across the globe, and a broad range by experience in the profession, from novices to experienced hands, and in between. IZA is not a “closed shop” — it is open to ideas and people. Credit for this model goes to Klaus F. Zimmermann for the implementation of his vision of a successful research center. “